Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, told the Most Rev Justin Welby, that he would lead the Church of England amid an age of seemingly unprecedented selfishness – in a society obsessed with individualism and rights.

The new Archbishop was also formally charged with the task of providing “a voice for faith” in the face of attempts to marginalise religion.

The 57-year-old former oil executive’s election as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury was confirmed in a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

He will be enthroned at Canterbury next month but has now taken up the reins at Lambeth Palace as the spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans.

In a ceremony tracing its origins to the 4th Century, Archbishop Sentamu and eight other senior bishops sat as an ecclesiastical court to complete the legal formalities of the Archbishop’s appointment.